Polo and Dreameh's VERY short RP. For real this time. (Mature)

"Oh, shut up." Dane replied, unconcerned for the damage already done to Sloan's ego. "You don't need to bond that much with him by now anyway..." He took the bridle from his boyfriend and entered the stable, scratching the gelding's large head absentmindedly. The puppy glanced up with mild curiosity at the enormous creature towering above it, then seemed to find a thread of straw more interesting and chewed excitably on it.
"You don't need to bond," Dane continued, pouting his lips at Sloan, "Because you already love him." He glanced down at the puppy, although it didn't take any notice of him. "I mean, look at it. How can you not love that?"
The puppy sneezed squeakily. Goldrush flinched beside him.
Chuckling in amusement, Dane began calmly tacking Goldrush, his hands moving robotically as they had done many times before. He then sorted the saddle out, then scratched the chestnut between the ears playfully.
Then, with one happy sigh, Dane picked the puppy up and cooed over it's dark, fluffy face, made a few stupid comments about how cute it was, then put it back on the floor and let it hop around on the lead for a bit longer.
Dane then turned to his boyfriend, smirking slightly, and cupped the man's face in his hands. "You're cute, too." He commented cheekily, pecking the man on the lips. "Obviously."

"I do not love your destructive little monster." Sloan objected firmly, casting the puppy a mutinous glare. It cocked its head cutely at him, and Sloan rolled his eyes in annoyance and looked away, watching with sulkily folded arms while Dane tacked up his horse. Once Dane had finished, he left the stable, and began coddling the puppy, leaving Sloan to watch sulkily, feeling secretly jealous that his boyfriend's attention was not being lavished solely on him. When Dane prattled on about how cute the puppy was, Sloan scoffed and rolled his eyes, but just before he could stalk off to fetch Goldrush, Dane finally turned to him and said, "You're cute, too. Obviously."
Sloan accepted his boyfriend's kiss like royalty, and shot back in a grumpy fashion, "You bet your sweet ass I'm cute, Mister." He scolded, wrenching Gold's stall door open, and clicking to the big gelding. Snorting amiably, Gold ambled out to stand beside him, and Sloan gave the horse an affectionate pat.
"Go tie that thing up somewhere." Sloan ordered, gesturing to the puppy, "Then get on Arch. I want to get going."
He led Gold over to Dane, then paused to grab a handful of his boyfriend's hair, tugging cheekily on it.
"I love you Daney..." He teased in a sing-song voice, grinning deviously and swooping in to give his boyfriend a romantic peck on the cheek. Flashing a handsome wink, Sloan tweaked his boyfriend's chin affectionately and said, "That was for tacking up my horse. If you hurry up, maybe you'll earn yourself some tongue next time."
Sticking out his tongue to emphasize his point, Sloan uttered a cruel bark of laughter, then sauntered off to the mounting block with Gold beside him.
Taking a deep breath, he clambered awkwardly up the steps, then unattached his prosthetic leg, and dropped it to the ground. Balancing wobbly on one leg, he gripped Gold's saddle to keep himself upright, and crooned praisingly to the gelding, who stood like a statue all the while.
Sucking in air through his teeth, Sloan grabbed the saddle and jumped, nearly swinging himself the whole way over. He cursed, grabbing a handful of man to keep his balance, and finally managed to right himself after a few minutes of clumsy hauling at Gold's mane. Red-faced and panting, Sloan cursed under his breath, then patted Gold's neck rewardingly.
"Let's hope I do a better job of riding than I did of mounting, huh?" He murmured to the horse, scratching his withers lovingly.
"Dane?" He called, looking back over his shoulder, "Are you coming, or must I start without you?"

Dane rolled his eyes, strolling out the stable with the puppy on it's lead, and tied it up gingerly a few feet away from Archie's stable by a patch of grass. Why did his arse have to be 'sweet' of all things? Really, Sloan had no shame.
His boyfriend swooped in like a hero, grabbing his hair and pecking him innocently on the lips, mentioning that if Dane was good he might earn himself some 'tongue' later. He grumbled under his breath.
"An amazing boyfriend like me shouldn't need to 'earn' affection!" He called, although Sloan was no longer listening. "I take my shirt off for you, asshole."
He heard heavy hooves clip-clopping on the tarmac behind him, and glared at his fiancé playfully. That hadn't meant to be the deal. The deal was Sloan was supposed to look after the puppy and wait for Dane to get Archie ready before he got out. Obviously, Sloan had other plans.
Dane glanced down at the puppy with a pouting lip. How could Sloan not want to spend time with such a cute, fluffy little angel?
He fussed over the little dog for a few minutes, then ran back to tack up his own tack.
Sloan was shouting orders at him, but Dane just ignored him. He'd be ready when he was ready! He would not be bribed with 'tongue' as Sloan called it. Nor any other little innuendos, either.

A few minutes later he led Archie out of the stable, and watched with amusement as his boyfriend was attempting to haul himself into the saddle. Poor Goldie. He looked bored out of his mind.
Feeling slightly superior in comparison - for the first time ever - Dane climbed onto the mounting block and mounted Archie without difficulty, leaning forward to check his girth, then sat up again, shooting Sloan a smug grin.
"Are you coming, or must I start without you?" Sloan teased, and Dane squeezed Archie on with a brief click of his tongue.
"What, like you do in the bedroom?" Dane replied cheekily, sticking his tongue out as he passed. "No change there then." He placed th reins loosely in one hand and sat back coolly, grinning at his boyfriend.
"Now remember, we both know what you're like right now, so we're not going to go any faster than this." He said firmly, scratching Archie's withers with his free hand. "Right?"
Silence.
He narrowed his eyes. "Sloan... Right?"

"I would never do that." Sloan huffed, pretending to be offended, "Why would I even bother, when I have you." Offering a dirty hand gesture, Sloan winked, then snickered deviously to himself as he clucked Goldie into a brisk walk. Dane, mounted on Archie now, soon caught up with him and warned, "Now remember, we both know what you're like right now, so we're not going to go any faster than this. Right?"
He said nothing at first, but just rode on as though he had not heard, secretly insulted by the implication that he was incapable, even though it was perfectly true.
"Sloan... Right?" Dane pressed suspiciously.
"Don't patronize me." Sloan growled, shooting his boyfriend a sharp glare. Then, feeling bad for being so harsh, he sighed and added with a warmer tone, "Come on, Daney. Have some faith in me. If I fall, it'll be my own fault." He cast his boyfriend a brief smile, then nudged Gold into a trot, sitting deep in the saddle. It had been a while since he had ridden, and he was bouncing rather more than he'd have liked in the trot. Feeling his balance falter, Sloan cursed, and urged Gold into a canter. As the gelding settled into a collected pace, Sloan managed to find his balance, and relaxed into the gentle, rocking horse gait.
He would have been happy just to walk, but since Dane had insisted he do just that, Sloan simply had to do the opposite.

Dane shifted uncomfortably at Sloan's snappy comment, and picked up his reins, adjusting his seat like Sloan had been commenting about his riding abilities. He wasn't sure where it came from, but sometimes when Sloan was in a bad mood and they were riding, he somehow expected his boyfriend to turn round and randomly start criticising him on his riding. He guessed that would never go, especially since he'd suffered that wrath before when Sloan had given him riding lessons.
Fortunately, it didn't take long for Sloan to lighten up. "Come on, Daney. Have some faith in me. If I fall, it'll be my own fault."
Dane shrugged. He couldn't argue with that.
But still, if Sloan did fall, it would be Dane who's be scraping his body off the ground with a spade. Or rushing him to the hospital. Or slapping him in the face for being such an idiot...
Dane blinked in surprise as Archie jumped into a bouncy trot to catch up to Goldrush, and it took Dane a few moments to get into the rhythm of the rising trot. He was watching Sloan suspiciously as he bounced around in the saddle, preparing to halt Archer at any moment if Sloan fell off. Except he didn't. In fact, he clucked Goldrush faster into a canter, and they were both rocking down the road on their large, chestnut horses.
Dane noticed Sloan was doing exactly what Dane had told him not to do, and he rolled his eyes at the man. Bless him, he was too proud to admit defeat, wasn't he?

They rode for a while, until the firm road became a mess of loose pebbles, and they were forced to slow back too a walk. Dane had to bend down to avoid some of the low branches of the trees, but thankfully, Archie's balance didn't falter.
"You arsehole." Dane scolded finally, a few minutes too late, although he was grinning stupidly. "It really would kill you to do as I say, wouldn't it?"
He shook his head in amusement, then loosened Archie's reins slightly, so he could look down and see where to put his feet.
"That's probably why you're the 'Christian Gray' out of the two of us, and I'm not."
He stuck his tongue out playfully, then he realised what he'd said, and looked away, blushing madly. Had he really just practically admitted he'd read that crap?
"Not that I know who he is..." He added in quickly. Then he remembered the silver tie Sloan had got him around the time of the black tie meeting, and his cheeks flushed darker. He soon looked like a beetroot.
Shit, he is, too...

As Goldrush cantered down the track, hooves crushing the fallen leaves gilded by the dappled light filtering through the leafy canopy overhead, Sloan slowly felt himself begin to relax. The crisp scent of Autumn lingered on the breeze, and the cool, fresh air was doing him good. He sat easily in the saddle, soon growing accustomed once again to the motion of the horse beneath him, and when they finally slowed to a trot and then back to a walk, Dane and Archer trotted up beside them.
"You arsehole." Dane scolded, grinning at him, "It really would kill you to do as I say, wouldn't it?"
Sloan winked handsomely at him, then replied with that dashing smile of his, "It might."
"That's probably why you're the 'Christian Gray' out of the two of us, and I'm not." Dane teased, but as Sloan raised an eyebrow at this statement, his boyfriend suddenly seemed to realize the implications of what he had said, and looked away, blushing beet red. "Not that I know who he is..." Dane muttered defensively, just as a devious smirk began to darken Sloan's lips.
"Oh, my Daney, Daney, Daney..." He laughed evilly, "Just how desperate have you been without me around, hm?" Snickering to himself, Sloan brushed aside a lock of his hair, and added, "Hey, maybe I should act in the Fifty Shades movie, just for you? I do think I'd fit the part, don't you? Nobody can bring the sexy like I can." He shot Dane a wink, then nudged Goldrush closer to Archie so that he could hassle his boyfriend a little more.
"So you've been reading porn, have you dear? Reading sexy stories about other men?" He shook his head, "I'm disgusted. If you're going to be like that, then I may just have to withhold sex after all, don't you think? After all, you don't need me if you've got your..." - his fingers formed sarcastic quotation marks in the air as he dropped Gold's reins - "'Christian Gray'."

Dane kept his eyes trained on the the view around him, anything but Sloan's face, but he could still feel Sloan's dark eyes burning on the back of his head. Damn, I've done it now, he thought hopelessly to himself. I'm not going to hear the end of this.
It wasn't that he'd been desperate. It was just that Claire and her friends had been reading it and he'd wanted to know what the fuss was about... It had ended up half scaring him, but he'd be lying if he said he hadn't found some of it... 'Pleasing'. But that wasn't why he'd intended to read it in the first place. He wasn't that horny...
"Hey, maybe I should act in the Fifty Shades movie, just for you? I do think I'd fit the part, don't you? Nobody can bring the sexy like I can."
Dane's head snapped in Sloan's direction, his eyes stretched wide in horror. No way... He was not losing his boyfriend to a porn film...
Sloan winked handsomely at him, making him blush and sulk even more than before, and he looked down in defeat as he felt Sloan and Goldrush close in towards he and Archie, and he realised this moment of teasing was not yet over.
"So you've been reading porn, have you dear? Reading sexy stories about other men?"
Dane shook his head desperately, opening his mouth to let any old excuse dribble from his lips. "N-no, no, it's not like that-"
"I'm disgusted. If you're going to be like that, then I may just have to withhold sex after all, don't you think? After all, you don't need me if you've got your..." Sloan dropped his reins and mimed some speech marks with his fingers. "'Christian Gray'.[/i]"
Dane narrowed his eyes. Oh. You went there.
He would not be tamed through sex. He was not completely undignified. If either of them was going to give in to sex, it was Sloan. Dane was a man who could control his urges.
"You won't break me by playing that card this time." He told the man firmly, lifting his chin with the last ounce of dignity he had left. "I won't be bribed with sex, again. I have limits, you know." He nodded, as if to confirm it to himself, and turned away, thinking through what Sloan had sex.
He was withholding sex? Again?
He waited for a while, getting evidently more fidgety as the silence wore on. Eventually, he began to twitch in the face, and he realised he had lost. Well, he'd never won inn the first place.
"It's... It's not that sexual," he lied pathetically, shrinking into himself. "It's only the odd page or two..." Or chapter, or pretty much the whole book...

"You won't break me by playing that card this time. I won't be bribed with sex, again. I have limits, you know." Dane insisted, but Sloan just laughed in his face, obviously not buying that excuse for a second. "Oh really?" He asked, smirking smugly, "Limits like your precious Christian Gray has, Sweetie?"
There was silence for a while, and Sloan thoroughly enjoyed watching Dane twitch uncomfortably, until at last he blurted, "It's... It's not that sexual, it's only the odd page or two..." He objected weakly, causing Sloan to raise an eyebrow in response. "Yeah." He agreed, "The odd page or two out of every two pages... Don't you lie to me, Mister." He leaned over to poke Dane's cheek, then lost his balance, and uttered a yelp of surprise as he nearly toppled off to the side. Cursing, he grabbed his boyfriend's shoulder to keep from falling, then used Dane to shove himself back into the saddle. He sat there for a moment, blinking bemusedly, then he burst out laughing.
"Oh God, karma's a bitch!" He chuckled, smiling in an amused fashion as he rubbed his cheek, "I deserved that, didn't I?"
Grinning and shaking his head, Sloan gathered up his reins and admitted pleasantly, "You know I'm just messing with you, Daney. You go ahead and read as many smut books as you like. I'd like to say that I won't go along with any creepy fetishes you pick up, but..." He shrugged, "Well, we both know that's not true. I'm dead inside." He offered a toothy grin, then uttered a bark of laughter as he nudged Gold into a trot, then back into a canter, turning off the main track to take a bridle path up a grassy slope.
"C'mon, slowcoach." He called to Dane, "Don't get left behind, now. Christian Gray might get you!"

"The odd page or two out of every two pages... Don't you lie to me, Mister."
Dane blushed scarlet. "Shut up, Sloan." He grumbled, smiling secretly. Talk about being caught red handed. He'd never hear the end of this, would he?
Ah well. It would help him in the bedroom. As long as Sloan didn't bring it up...
He grunted in surprise as a finger came threateningly closer to his face, eyes widening at the sight of it. But suddenly the finger slipped away,and Sloan toppled onto the side of his saddle in his stupidity. Dane was about to laugh at him. Until he was used as a rest to prop his fiance back onto the horse, almost causing him to fall himself.
He glared in Sloan's direction, but the man had already started laughing. It didn't take long before Dane was doing the same.
"Oh God, karma's a bitch! I deserved that, didn't I?/i]"
"You did." Dane agreed firmly, sticking his nose up in a rude fashion. "Serves you right. Asshole."
"[i]You know I'm just messing with you, Daney. You go ahead and read as many smut books as you like. I'd like to say that I won't go along with any creepy fetishes you pick up, but... Well, we both know that's not true. I'm dead inside." Sloan added, shooting Dane a handsome grin.
Dane glared at him.
He most certainly wasn't going to hear the last of this, was he?
Sloan looked so gorgeous Dane had to resist the urge to hit him, mostly due to the risk of knocking himself off his horse. He'd get Sloan back for this. He wasn't yet sure how, but he'd find a way.
The next thing he knew Sloan and Gold had disappeared from his side and were galloping off in a cloud of dust and dirt ahead of them. Sensing this, Archie's ears pricked, and he jumped in the spot, almost begging for the cue to follow. Dane sat deeply in his saddle and touched Archie's sides, and with an excitable snort, the warmblood shot forwards after the other two, his tail set high.
"Leave Christian Grey out of this!" Dane snapped after his fiance, standing up in his seat. "Or I'll take sex off the table... For longer!" He threatened pathetically, squeezing Archie on gently. His mount bucked excitably, cat-leaping over a small ditch and bolted forwards past Gold, his nostrils flared.
"Ha!" Dane barked, until Archie leapt awkwardly over what he thought was water, but was in fact a small line of loose pebbles on the grassy hill. Dane slipped on his neck with a grunt, and waited until Archie had slowed down to pull himself up again.
"Karma's at both our throats today..." He murmured as they reached the top gait, slowing his warmblood down to a trot.

"Leave Christian Grey out of this!" Dane shouted from behind him, and Sloan threw his head back to laugh as Gold plunged on up the hill, grunting with the effort of every powerful thrust from his quarters. "Or I'll take sex off the table..." Dane added, "For longer!"
Before he could respond, Archie shot past on his right side, and Sloan was forced to grab a handful of reins as Gold snorted his displeasure, surging on with a shake of his head.
"The table?" He asked, raising an eyebrow, "Really love? That's kinda kinky, even for you."
A dirty grin stretched across his face, and he laughed cruelly when he saw Archie leap a section of pebbles on the ground, shaking Dane's balance.
"'Ha' to you too!" He mocked, clucking to Gold, and giving the gelding his head to take the lead again. He slowed to a trot at the top of the hill, and waited for Archie to canter meekly over to him. The gelding fell into step beside Gold, huffing slightly, and Sloan took hold of his reins while he watched his poor boyfriend shove himself back into the saddle.
"Well sat." He teased sarcastically, releasing Archie, and giving him a brief pat.
"Karma's at both our throats today..." Dane grumbled, while Sloan pulled Gold to a halt.
"Sure is." He agreed, "Look." Raising a hand, he pointed to the the other side of the hill, where the ground fell away gradually to roll into a beautiful vista of misty green fields. The sun was just rising in the sky, painting the mist gold.
"Stunning, isn't it?" He smiled, and leaned forward to give Gold a pat on the neck. "It sounds kinda stupid, but I tell you, I really missed this. Just seeing the sun, breathing the outside air..." He chuckled softly, swiping his friend away from his eyes, "Seriously, a hospital is just like a prison with drugs."

“Look.” Dane followed Sloan's finger to the sky, burning all sorts of vibrant, warm colours as it began to rise in the sky. “Stunning, isn't it?”
“Mm-hm.” Dane grunted, still panting from the effort of not falling off Archie's neck. Sloan was right, though. It was a really nice change to be back in the country again, instead of moping around the stables or being in that horrible hospital. The scenery was for more beautiful than anything around town.
“It sounds kinda stupid, but I tell you, I really missed this. Just seeing the sun, breathing the outside air...” Dane shot his fiance a look. More amused than anything. Since when was Sloan ever into lovey-dovey stuff like that? Then again... Being in the hospital had broken him for a bit. At least now he had somewhere to de-stress and calm down. Especially after what he'd done to Midnight a couple of days ago.
“Seriously, a hospital is just like a prison with drugs.”
“I can't really relate.” Dane replied, leaning forward to unlatch the gate of the trail to let them into the huge field, still full of sheep so early in the morning. “I've never been to prison.” He teaased, sticking his tongue out cheekily. Then he sat up and kicked the gate open with his toes. “I'm a good boy.”
Grinning, he clucked Archie forward and walked him into the field, the same with the huge, willowing tree in the middle. He headed straight towards it, then knotted Archie's reins and dismounted. Archie turned away to graze, and Dane headed straight to one of the raised roots of the tree and sat on it, patting the space beside him suggestively with a cheeky smirk.

“I can't really relate.” Dane answered, his voice somewhat muffled as he leaned down to open the gate into the field. Sloan held Gold back, waiting. The gelding stamped impatiently, champing at the bit. Sloan supposed the gallop had got the usually chilled horse a little riled up.
“I've never been to prison.” Dane added as they entered the field, sticking out his tongue cheekily, “I'm a good boy.”
"Hmm." Sloan replied dubiously, smirking at him, "Sure you are, Buddy."
Archie walked off, and Sloan was left to comfort Gold for a few moments as he snorted uncertainly at the sheep. Crooning at the nervous horse, Sloan gently coaxed Gold over to Archie, then carefully dismounted and ran up his stirrups, looping his reins through the throatlatch.
"C'mon, Goldie." He said, smooching to the horse, "Lend me a foot, would you?"
The gelding snorted, and as he lowered his head, Sloan hoisted an arm over his neck, and used the horse as a crutch to hop over to Dane, where he sat on a root of the willow tree.
Breathless and red-faced, Sloan gave Gold a pat, then flopped down on a protruding root a little too heavily.
"Ouch!" He grunted, rubbing his butt tenderly, "That's gonna bruise." He shot Dane a look, narrowing his eyes at the man's smirk.
"What're you looking at, 'Good Boy'?" He growled, leaning over to grab his boyfriend into a headlock. Smirking triumphantly to himself, he threw his arm around Dane's neck and pulled him half into his lap, covering his eyes with a beefy forearm.

Dane watched, not at all bothered that his boyfriend had to use a horse just to sit down. Hell, if Dane had lent a hand, Sloan would have just shouted at him anyway.
Of course, this ended with Sloan falling heavily on the narrow root, right on his butt-crack. And, as the caring fiance he was, Dane just grinned at him.
“What're you looking at, 'Good Boy'?” Sloan growled, but before Dane had the chance to reply, he had an arm linked around his neck and his head was dragged towards Sloan's lap.
He cried out in surprise, and, in the excitement, fell onto his side into a moist, muddy section under the tree.
Okay, so he'd deserved that for being smug. But still...
“You know...” He told the man snidely. “If you want pleasuring, this is the wrong way to go about it.” He patted Sloan's crotch teasingly, then elbowed him to release the grip from around his neck. But instead of sitting up again, he rolled onto his back and rested his head on Sloan's lap, folding his arms behind his head.
He yanked off his hat, leaving it on the grass, and stared smugly up at his fiance.
“I have a feeling I'm going to have an unfortunate muddy patch on my backside now.” He mused then shrugged, like it didn't matter, and reached up to poke Sloan's chin gently.

“You know...” Dane piped up from somewhere in his lap, “If you want pleasuring, this is the wrong way to go about it.”
"Oh, uck!" Sloan exclaimed, wrinkling his nose in disgust, and shoving his face unceremoniously aside with a sweaty palm, "Show a little class, Mate. No more Fifty Shades for you, I'm serious." He flicked Dane sharply in the forehead, and turned his hips sideways to shield his poor crotch from further violation. Not that he minded, of course; but there was a time and a place, and this was neither.
A sharp elbow freed Dane from Sloan's grip, and with a displeased grunt, he released the man, allowing him to lie down and use his lap as a pillow. Cheeky bastard.
“I have a feeling I'm going to have an unfortunate muddy patch on my backside now.” Dane mused, poking his chin. Sloan swatted his hand away automatically, then looked down with a crooked smile. "You know you deserve it." He pointed out fairly, mirroring Dane's shrug, "But for the record, if anyone asks, I'm telling them you crapped yourself. What are boyfriends for?" He winked, then lifted his knee, letting Dane's head slide off his lap.
"I'm not your personal pillow." He explained, reaching our to rake his fingers through his boyfriend's hair.
They sat there a few moments, then Sloan shivered as a chilly breeze bit through his clothes. Surprised by the sudden cold, he looked up, eyes locking onto some dark clouds building on the horizon. It was strange, he was sure the weather report had said it would be sunny...

“You know you deserve it.”
“I do.” Dane replied shamelessly, nodding in agreement.
“But for the record, if anyone asks, I'm telling them you crapped yourself.”
“Hey!” Dane grunted in disapproval, frowning up at his boyfriend. “What's wrong with me just admitting I sat on some wet grass? This is boyfriend abuse.”
Sloan looked smugly at him. “What are boyfriends for?”
He shot the man a glare. “You, Sir, are very very me- aah!” He fell forward, forced to sit up when Sloan raised a knee to keep him from getting comfy. Dane crossed his arms in a sulky fashion, forcing himself into a sitting position, now facing away from his fiance, studying the horizon with little interest.
Just then fingers raked slowly through his messy hair, ruffling it up further, and dragging his vision up to the sky as his head fell backwards. He murmured in enjoyment, letting his eyelids slide gently closed. Like Sloan he enjoyed being petted like this, although he didn't get it often.
They sat there for a few moments, until the air became cold enough to bite at Dane's skin, and he opened his eyes in annoyance. A large, grey cloud came flying by, slowing to a halt around their area. Dane swore.
“I don't know about you, but I don't think we could outrun that, even on horses.” He grumbled, his eyes transfixed on the large, grey cloud.
“Damn.”

"I think you're right." Sloan answered with a sigh, scrunching his mouth irritably to one side as he stared up at the cloud. As if on cue, a raindrop fell on his nose. Then the skies opened, and out of nowhere the rain came bucketing down, soaking Sloan to the skin in instants.
"Ugh!" He exclaimed, scrambling clumsily up - using Dane's shoulder for support - and plucking his soaked shirt away from his chest, where it clung wetly. "Where the hell did all this come from? Just a minute ago-"
His words were lost as a sudden clap of thunder shook the heavens, loud and booming. Sloan started, and from a few meters away, Goldrush jerked his head up with a squeal, trotting off a few paces, then stopping to gaze worriedly at the sky.
"Let's go!" Sloan shouted, just as a bolt of lightning split the horizon, "I don't like the look of this storm, and Gold is scared. Lend me a hand, would you."
Without waiting for permission, he took a sharp grip on Dane's shoulder, and used the other man as a crutch to transport him quickly toward his frightened horse.
"Whoah, Goldie." He crooned softly, reaching out for the gelding's reins. Gold's eye rolled worriedly, showing white. It was so unlike him, that it put Sloan on edge. "Easy boy." He soothed the horse, patting his trembling neck, "There there, you're okay. It's just a little thun-"
As he spoke, another boom of thunder rolled out, louder this time. It growled for a moment, making Gold freeze and tremble, then escalated to a full-fledged roar, shaking the ground like an earthquake. Sloan found himself momentarily deafened by the noise, and in the pandemonium that followed, he found himself too dazed to react. Everything happened so fast, he could barely tell one second from the next.
He wasn't sure what came first; Gold's fright, or the lightning. All he knew was that one moment the horse was at his side, and the next it was above him, hooves flailing. One caught him a glancing blow to the temple, and as he crumpled to the ground, he saw Gold spin on his hocks, and bolt away into the forest, his chestnut coat gleaming a burning orange in the firelight.
Wait-
Shocked and dazed, Sloan scrambled up to his hands and knees, swaying dizzily. He looked up, and saw the fire. Flames licked hungrily at a tall tree right before him, and even as they devoured it, he heard the beast in the sky roaring greedily, its appetite far from sated. Lightning lashed down again, a silver whip, but it didn't hit nearby this time. After all, it didn't need to. The fire was spreading so fast, Sloan feared it would reach him before he even found his feet.
Still confused by the blow to the head, he staggered to his feet, then tried to take a step on a phantom limb, and found himself spilling to the ground again. He cursed, slamming his fist into the soil, and dragged himself up the trunk of the nearest tree, using it to prop himself up once he was standing.
"Dane!" He shouted, searching blindly for his boyfriend in the clouds of smoke billowing from the wildfire. "Get Archie, we have to get out of here!"